Science | The Guardian

Two decades after the material was first produced, some UK firms have reaped its potential but others are strugglingAfter graphene was first produced at the University of Manchester in 2004, it was hailed as a wonder material, stronger than steel but lighter than paper. But two decades on, not every UK graphene company has made the most of that potential. Some show promise but others are struggling.Extracted from graphite, commonly used in pencils, graphene is a latticed sheet of carbon one atom thick, and is highly effective at conducting heat and electricity. China is the world's biggest producer, using it to try to get ahead in the global race to produce microchips and in sectors such as construction. Continue reading...

Alcohol, suicide and injuries driving rises among teenagers and young adults despite overall rates falling, authors sayThe world faces an emerging crisis" of higher death rates among teenagers and young adults, according to a major study on the causes of death and disability worldwide.The reasons vary from drug and alcohol use, and suicide in North America, to infectious diseases and injuries in sub-Saharan Africa, the researchers said, but warned that their data should serve as a wake-up call".In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

The particles are in our blood, brains and guts - and scientists are only beginning to learn what they doMicroplastics have been found almost everywhere: in blood, placentas, lungs - even the human brain. One study estimated our cerebral organs alone may contain 5g of the stuff, or roughly a teaspoon. If true, plastic isn't just wrapped around our food or woven into our clothes: it is lodged deep inside us.Now, researchers suspect these particles may also be meddling with our gut microbes. When Dr Christian Pacher-Deutsch at the University of Graz in Austria exposed gut bacteria from five healthy volunteers to five common microplastics, the bacterial populations shifted - along with the chemicals they produced. Some of these changes mirrored patterns linked to depression and colorectal cancer. Continue reading...

Doctor and medical editor who inaugurated the International Congress on Peer Review and Scientific PublicationIn deciding what research to publish and how to appraise it, medical journals bear a heavy responsibility - as seen when it goes awry. In 1998, for instance, the Lancet published a paper falsely linking autism with the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine. They retracted the paper, but the genie was out of the bottle: the ensuing health scare reverberates to this day.The British-born doctor and editor Drummond Rennie, who has died aged 89, was a towering figure in American medical journals, on a mission to combat inaccuracy in science reporting and drive up standards. A cartoon in the British Medical Journal in 2001 depicted him as a biblical prophet, beckoning his fellow medical editors towards the promised land" of rigorous science reporting. He was the deputy editor of two of the world's most influential medical journals: the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), from 1977 to 1981; and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), from 1983 to 2013. Continue reading...

Before the Spanish study, some scientists had been sceptical about the mammals attacking migratory birdsBats are generally viewed as harmless, if spooky, creatures of the night. But scientists have revealed a more savage side, after witnessing a greater noctule bat - Europe's largest bat species - hunting, killing and devouring a robin mid-flight.The grisly recording reveals the bat as a formidable predator, climbing to 1.2km (4,000ft) before embarking on a breakneck-speed dive in pursuit of its prey. On capture, the bat delivered a lethal bite and subsequent chewing sounds, recorded between echolocation calls, indicated that the bat consumed the bird continuously during flight for 23 minutes without losing altitude. Continue reading...

Scientist who transformed the understanding of materials and redefined our knowledge of crystallographyWhen Peter Hirsch produced the first images of defects or faults in crystalline structures using transmission electron microscopy at Cambridge University's Rutherford Laboratory, he transformed our understanding of materials science and redefined our knowledge of crystallography.In particular, in 1956 he and his team directly observed a specific type of fault, known as a dislocation, in pieces of stainless steel and aluminium foil, which previously had only been a somewhat controversial hypothesis. These faults are important because they control the ductility of the material, that is, its ability to sustain deformation before breaking. Continue reading...

Researchers say terrier and shepherd breeds display greater tendency for addictive-type behaviourWhether it is a spaniel with an insatiable love for a ball or a flat-coat that cannot be without its squeaky bear, dogs can be very keen on their toys. Now researchers say some may even show signs of addiction.While humans can take a host of activities to excess, from work to shopping, only gambling and internet gaming disorders are officially recognised as behavioural addictions, a main feature of which is repeating acts that are initially rewarding, even though they can result in longer-term harm. Continue reading...

Biologist who won the Nobel prize for discovering that adult cells can be reprogrammedThe exciting possibility that mature body cells, such as skin cells, might be transformed and used to repair damaged hearts or brains was long seen as science fiction. Once a cell had reached its specialised mature state, biologists thought, it could not adopt another identity. John Gurdon, who has died aged 92, was the first to show that it could. In 2012 he shared the Nobel prize for medicine with the Japanese researcher Shinya Yamanaka for this discovery.In 1958, while still a graduate student at Oxford University, Gurdon reported that he had removed the nuclei, which contain the cell's DNA, from frog eggs and successfully replaced them with nuclei taken from cells lining the guts of tadpoles. Continue reading...

If we really want to grasp what animals are saying', we need to understand their communication on their terms, not oursAnother day, another cute story about how dogs can grasp elements of human language and use them to communicate with us.First, there was Mr Waffles, the Yorkshire terrier thattalks" to his owners by pressing electronic buttons that have been pre-programmed with words and phrases. In one of his videos, viewed more than half a million times, the pint-sized pooch stares defiantly at the camera and responds to an empty packet of treats by pressing the I don't give a damn" button. Followed by the bitch" button. Bad dog, Mr Waffles.Helen Pilcher is a science writer and the author of Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-Extinction. To support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply Continue reading...

This year's Nobel prizes in chemistry, physics and physiology or medicine have celebrated work that paves the way for the next generation of quantum technology, the creation of porous materials that have been compared to Hermione Granger's handbag and the discovery of the hidden army inside us that helps to keep our immune system in check. To find out more, Madeleine Finlay talks to our science editor, Ian Sample, and correspondents Nicola Davis and Hannah DevlinRead more of the Guardian's Nobel coverage Continue reading...

Trio honoured for developing revolutionary materials for applications ranging from gas storage to drug deliveryThe Nobel prize in chemistry has been awarded to three scientists who created revolutionary porous materials that can harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide from industrial facilities and remove toxins from water.Susumu Kitagawa, of Kyoto University, Richard Robson, of the University of Melbourne, and Omar Yaghi, of the University of California, Berkeley, shared the 11m Swedish kronor (about 871,400) prize awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm. Continue reading...

Only the third interstellar comet ever to be seen contains material from other star systems that can be observed close upYou wait ages for an interstellar comet to arrive and then three come along at once. Or at least over the space of a decade. The latest interloper from another star system is the 3I/Atlas comet, which was first detected in July. As space agencies track the speeding object, here's what we know so far. Continue reading...

Research could offer hope for ME patients - but some experts urge caution and say more studies neededScientists say they have developed the world's first blood test to diagnose myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).There is currently no test for the condition and patients tend to be diagnosed based on symptoms, which means many can go undiagnosed for years. Continue reading...

Our brains are wired to believe new information, especially if it aligns with our views. But mistruths can have serious consequencesErnest Hemingway famously said that every good writer needs a built-in BS detector. But in 2025 we all need one. High levels of scientific misinformation are threatening the wellbeing of families and our society, and the problem is worsening at an alarming rate.Artificial intelligence and social media are turbocharging the spread of misinformation dressed as science. Lies that once travelled slowly, and stayed relatively local, now surge across the globe. Continue reading...

My father, Edgar Neufeld, who has died aged 92, was a Jewish refugee from the Nazis who became a scientist and senior IBM executive. He then dedicated himself to charitable work in education, for which he was made an OBE in 2003.After the family escaped from Vienna in 1938, Edgar grew up with his parents, Martha (nee Fuchs) and Sigi Neufeld, and his sister, Inge, in Manchester in a block of flats that was home to many other Jewish refugees. Sigi was a businessman and Martha later owned a gift boutique in London. Life gradually became more normal, and Edgar attended Manchester grammar school and Manchester City football matches. Continue reading...

Researchers in Australia find 16 genetic variants linked to depression in women but only eight in menWomen carry a higher genetic risk of depression, a new study has found.Claiming to be the largest genetic study to date on sex differences in major depression, the research published on Wednesday in Nature Communications has found 16 genetic variants linked to depression in women and eight in men. Continue reading...

Fred Ramsdell's wife switched on her phone and screamed - it was full of messages congratulating her husband

Trio led experiments that paved the way for the next generation of quantum technologiesThe Nobel prize in physics 2025 has been awarded to British, French and American scientists for pioneering experiments that paved the way for the next generation of quantum technologies.John Clarke, a British physicist based at the University of California at Berkeley, Michel Devoret, a French physicist based at Yale University, and John Martinis, of the University of California Santa Barbara, shared the 11m Swedish kronor (about 871,400) prize announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm. Continue reading...

Kevin Hall spent 21 years at the US National Institutes of Health and became known globally for his pioneering work on ultra-processed foods. In April he unexpectedly took early retirement, citing censorship under the Trump administration.Now he has co-authored a book with the journalist Julia Belluz that aims to bust myths and challenge wellness orthodoxy on everything from weight loss and metabolism to supplements and wearables. Hall tells Ian Sample what he wants us all to understand about diet, exercise and weight loss, and what led to his departure from the job he lovedOrder Kevin's book from Guardian BookshopSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Fred Ramsdell was among those honoured with a 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine but might not know because he is somewhere in Idaho and uncontactableThe Nobel committee has been unable to reach a winner of this year's prize for medicine, who is living his best life" on an off the grid" hiking foray, a spokesperson from his San Francisco-based lab, Sonoma Biotherapeutics, has said.Fred Ramsdell shared Monday's prestigious prize with Mary Brunkow of Seattle, Washington and Shimon Sakaguchi of Osaka University in Japan for their discoveries related to the functioning of the immune system. Continue reading...

Primatologist said in interview released after her death she would also put Putin, Xi and Netanyahu on that spaceshipIn a lifetime studying the behavior of chimpanzees, Jane Goodall became something of an authority on the aggressiveness of alpha male adults. Now, in an interview released just days after her death, the famed primatologist reveals what she would do with Donald Trump, Elon Musk and other human beings she saw as showing similar traits: launch them on a one-way trip into space.The insight into Goodall's thinking comes in the Netflix documentary Famous Last Words, recorded in March and kept under wraps until her death last week at the age of 91. Continue reading...

Mary E Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi win for work on preventing immune system harming bodyThe Nobel prize in physiology or medicine 2025 has been awarded to three scientists for their work on how the immune system is prevented from attacking the body.Mary E Brunkow, now at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, Fred Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, and Shimon Sakaguchi, now at Osaka University in Japan, have been awarded the prize for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance". Continue reading...

The insects' brilliant hues evolved in lush ecosystems to help them survive. Now they are becoming more muted to adapt to degraded landscapes - and they are not the only things dulling down

Comet responsible for phenomenon passed close to the sun earlier this year, creating high chance of a meteor stormOctober is the beginning of the autumn and winter meteor shower season, which culminates in the Geminids in December. This week features the Draconids. It may not be a prominent shower, but it is observer friendly. Unlike most, which peak in the early hours of the morning, the Draconids are best in the early evening.This is because the shower's radiant, the point from which the meteors appear to emerge, is highest in the sky as darkness falls. The chart shows the view looking high into the north-western sky from London at 20:00 BST on 8 October, the night of peak activity. Continue reading...

The Guardian journalist Josh Halliday talks about Huntington's disease, the impact the rare inherited condition has had on his family and the hope there may now be a treatmentFor years, the Guardian north of England editor, Josh Halliday, had a secret, unknown even to his friends: that for more than a decade, his father had been suffering from a devastating neurodegenerative disease; and that Halliday feared he had it too.Huntington's disease is a rare and cruel genetic condition. It can rob people of their voice, their mobility and even their personality. And worse than that, their children are faced with the possibility that one day they could develop the disease as well. Continue reading...

Visions of matriarchal utopia may be wishful thinking, but there's growing evidence of women wielding powerThere is a stubborn and widely held idea that in some earlier phase of our species' existence, women had equal status to men, or even ruled, and societies were happier and more peaceful for it. Then along came the patriarchy, and much bloodshed and oppression later, here we all are.This notion of matriarchy and patriarchy as polar opposites - with a switch having been thrown between them - was seeded in the 19th century by Marxist theory, taking root in archaeology without much evidence. From there it spread to public consciousness. Continue reading...

Scientists are still unravelling the thefts of Colin Wyatt, an English adventurer, artist and naturalist who charmed the entomological communityThe butterfly was dead when the old man found it, lying in the snow 1,600 metres above sea level. It didn't have a name then, as he bent down and scooped its body up from the ice - a tiny John Doe, light as a feather, barely visible to an untrained eye. But this encounter in the spring of 1922 wasn't his first brush with the short life cycle of an insect. It wasn't his first time on Barrington Tops either, a volcanic plateau perched high in the Great Dividing Range of New South Wales. The man's name was Johnny Hopson but to many he was known as the Father of the Tops".It was no secret that the plateau was good butterfly country; if you picked your moment right, the mountain air would be thick with them, gathering at dusk in cloud-like clusters ripe for someone like Hopson to catch hundreds at a time with a sweep of a net. Or, as in this case, a cold snap or unexpected snowfall might leave the ground littered with delicate corpses, waiting in plain sight for a keen-eyed collector. The butterflies were just the start of its riches and, once word began to spread of this nature's wonderland", collectors swarmed like moths to a flame. Continue reading...

Discovery of wide array of carbon-based substances on Enceladus shows solar system is fertile hunting groundFrom tentative evidence of habitable planets to the eyebrow-raising suggestion an interstellar comet might not be what it seems, the possibility of life beyond our solar system has long tantalised scientists and the public alike. But experts say ET is more likely to be found if we search in our own back yard.The prospect was revitalised on Wednesday when scientists announced the likelihood has risen that Saturn's sixth largest moon may be habitable after a study found Enceladus is spewing out a wider array of carbon-based substances than previously known. Continue reading...

There was dismay after Rory McIlroy's wife was hit by a beer at the Ryder Cup. But have crowds always been badly behaved, or is antisocial behaviour getting worse?The abuse hurled at Europe's golfers in the Ryder Cup elicited gasps and dismay on both sides of the Atlantic. The crowd at the Bethpage Black course in New York graduated from boos and heckles to homophobic slurs and insults aimed at players' wives. The first-tee master of ceremonies set the tone by leading a chant of fuck you, Rory!", putting Rory McIlroy firmly in the crosshairs - along with his wife, who was hit with a beer cup.After initially playing it down, American golf officials apologised and said some fan behaviour had crossed the line", but the affair has left a nagging sense of unease. What if the line has in fact moved? What if accepted codes of crowd behaviour have changed? Continue reading...

Amateur astronomers and photographers from around Australia were invited to submit their out of this world photos for Central West Astronomical Society's annual astrophotography competition, the David Malin awards. The winning images are now showing at the CSIRO's Parkes Observatory visitors centre

US president has proposed measures that Royal Swedish Academy of Science VP says will have devastating effects'One of the Nobel prize awarding bodies has warned that academic freedom is under threat in the US and elsewhere, with political interference risking long-lasting negative effects - as scientists get ready for next week's award announcements.Donald Trump has introduced or proposed a swathe of measures in his second term that critics argue will hamper education and scientific research. Continue reading...

Findings of study into fermentation process behind dairy product could serve as toolkit for creating new foodsWhether it is kombucha, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, or sourdough, today's foodies are not short of fermented treats to tantalise their tastebuds. But for the adventurous, the menu may be about to get wilder. How about a spoonful of ant yoghurt?Making it does not involve milking any ants. Instead, the unfortunate insects are dropped into a jar of warm milk, which is tucked into an ant mound and left to ferment overnight. The fermenting tradition originating from Turkey and Bulgaria is now being resurrected in the name of science. Continue reading...

Plantlife charity enlisted help of 850 volunteers to look for waxcaps in places such as private gardensGraveyards, sheep farms and garden lawns are among the hundreds of new sites for rare pink and purple fungi discovered by citizen scientists.The charity Plantlife has enlisted 850 volunteers to look for waxcaps in their local areas, so scientists can get data from places such as private gardens to which they have not previously had access. Continue reading...

Maj Gen Paul Tedman says Moscow trying to disrupt UK's military activities on weekly' basis and closely monitoring space assetsRussia is attempting to jam UK military satellites on a regular basis, according to the head of the UK Space Command.Speaking to the BBC, Maj Gen Paul Tedman said Russian forces were actively trying to disrupt UK-based military activities weekly" and were closely monitoring the country's space assets. Continue reading...

The renowned primatologist Jane Goodall has died aged 91. She will be remembered for her observations that revolutionised our understanding of chimpanzees, as well as her tireless environmental advocacy. Ian Sample talks to the Guardian's global environment editor Jon Watts, who met Goodall several times, to find out what her scientific legacy will be Jane Goodall, renowned primatologist, dies aged 91Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Pioneering scientist whose breakthrough studies of chimpanzees changed how the animals were perceived and led to greater protectionDuring the final months of 1960, in what is now Gombe national park, Tanzania, Jane Goodall, then 26 years old, made two discoveries that established her name and reputation as a field scientist studying wild apes. First, she observed chimpanzees eating red meat. Before that moment, the scientific consensus, based on virtually no direct observation, was that chimpanzees were vegetarians.Then she witnessed an even more unexpected behaviour: a chimpanzee male, crouched nextto a high earthen tower builtby termites, studiously modifying a long stalk of grass until it became a useful probe. Thechimp then inserted the probe into a narrow tunnel that descended deep into the mound. As Goodall soon came to understand, members of the insect species' soldier caste inside the mound instinctively lock their powerful mandibles on to any intruding object - and thus they became, once the probe was carefully drawn back out, victims of a crafty ape. The termites, potentially a significant source of nutrition, were tasty enough to serve as food for several species of monkey in that part of east Africa. Only chimpanzees, however, had developed the cultural tradition of fishing" for them. Continue reading...

Scientists are warning that academic publishing needs urgent reform in order to retain trust in the research system. Ian Sample tells Madeleine Finlay what has gone so wrong, and Dr Mark Hanson of the University of Exeter proposes some potential solutionsQuality of scientific papers questioned as academics overwhelmed' by the millions publishedIs the staggeringly profitable business of scientific publishing bad for science? Continue reading...

The world-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall has died at the age of 91.Born in London in 1934, Goodall began researching free-living chimpanzees in Tanzania in 1960. In 1977 she founded the Jane Goodall Institute, which works to protect the species and supports youth projects aimed at benefiting animals and the environment.She was considered the leading expert on chimpanzees, with a career spanning more than 60 years. Her research was pivotal in proving the similarities in primate and human behaviour

Jane Goodall Institute says tireless advocate' for natural world died in California during US speaking tourThe world-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall has died at the age of 91, her institute has said.The Jane Goodall Institute announced that she had died of natural causes while in California as part of a US speaking tour. Continue reading...

The world-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall has died at the age of 91 Continue reading...

Those diagnosed as small children typically have distinct genetic profile from those diagnosed later, study findsAutism should not be viewed as a single condition with a unified underlying cause, according to scientists who found that those diagnosed early in childhood typically have a distinct genetic profile to those diagnosed later.The international study, based on genetic data from more than 45,000 autistic people in Europe and the US, showed that those diagnosed in early childhood, typically before six years old, were more likely to show behavioural difficulties from early childhood, including problems with social interaction, but remain stable. Continue reading...

Ed Miliband's move to bring forward ban is gambit to stop would-be Reform voters from backing Nigel Farage's pro-fracking partyEd Miliband announced on Wednesday that Labour was speeding up plans to bring in a total ban" on fracking. But how will this work and could it stop a future Reform government from fracking? Continue reading...

The industry has always wanted the NHS to pay more for its drugs; now it is pulling research and investment out of BritainThis year so far, some of the biggest pharmaceutical corporations in the world have withdrawn about 2bn in proposed investment from the UK. One has even threatened to withhold new medicines from NHS patients. Taken together, it's hard not to conclude that big pharma is at war with the UK.Merck has scrapped a 1bn research facility, while AstraZeneca ditched a 450m vaccine lab and is rethinking an expansion of another research unit. Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) has cancelled 34 partnerships with the NHS in the last year, and Eli Lilly, Sanofi and Novartis are all believed to have put investments on hold". BMS is also threatening to play hardball with its new schizophrenia drug, saying it is prepared to make the difficult decision" to walk away" if the NHS won't pay the price the corporation wants to charge.Nick Dearden is director of Global Justice Now (formerly World Development Movement) Continue reading...

Scientists studying water vapour plume from Enceladus find presence of complex molecules that could harbour lifeThe likelihood that one of Saturn's moons may harbour life has risen, experts say, after finding an array of carbon-based substances being spewed out of Enceladus.The sixth largest of Saturn's moons, Enceladus has become one of the leading contenders in the search for bodies that could harbour extraterrestrial life, with the Cassini mission - which ended in 2017 - revealing the moon has a plume of water ice grains and vapours erupting from beneath the surface at its south pole. Continue reading...

If smoking was the cancer villain of the 20th century, eating ultra-processed food may be its 21st-century counterpart

Scientists say their early-stage work could help older women or same-sex male couples have childrenResearchers have created human eggs from skin cells, potentially transforming IVF treatment for couples who have no other options.The work is at an early stage but if scientists can perfect the process it would provide genetically related eggs for women who are infertile because of older age, illness or medical treatment. The same procedure could be used to make eggs for same-sex male couples. Continue reading...

Researchers say findings show inequality creates toxic environment and reducing it is a public health imperative'Scientists have linked the impact of living in an unequal society to structural changes in the brains of children - regardless of individual wealth - for the first time.A study of more than 10,000 young people in the US discovered altered brain development in children from wealthy and lower-income families in areas with higher rates of inequality, which were also associated with poorer mental health. Continue reading...

Some experts think a few sharks may be responsible for a disproportionate number of attacks. Should they be hunted down?First was the French tourist, killed while swimming off Saint-Martin in December 2020. The manager of a nearby water sports club raced out in a dinghy to help, only to find her lifeless body floating face down, a gaping wound where part of her right thigh should have been. Then, a month later, another victim. Several Caribbean islands away, a woman snorkelling off St Kitts and Nevis was badly bitten on her left leg by a shark. Fortunately, she survived.Soon after the fatal incident in December, Eric Clua, a marine biologist at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris, got a phone call. Island nations often ask for his help after a shark bite, he says, because I am actually presenting a new vision ... I say, You don't have a problem with sharks, you have a problem with one shark.'" Continue reading...

The Ig Nobel prizes were awarded recently - for science that makes you laugh and then think - and the peace prize was given to a cheeky study testing the link between alcohol and language proficiency. Does a drink really help us to converse more convincingly in another tongue, or does it just give us inflated confidence? To find out, Madeleine Finlay speaks to a member of the winning team, Dr Fritz Renner, a researcher in clinical psychology and psychotherapy at the University of Freiburg in GermanyTeflon diet, garlic milk and zebra cows triumph at 2025 Ig Nobel prizesSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...